User Reviews

Special Branch – A Copper named Craven – 1973 The Customs boys get an anonymous phone call that a man with a suitcase of gold Swiss watches will be coming through the airport. They pull the man from the "nothing to declare" line and search his suitcase. The case is full of watches.

The man, Tony Selby, gets upset and asks what is going on. He says he paid a 300 pound bribe to a copper, George Sewell, for a free ride through customs.

Sewell, a Detective Inspector with the Special Branch, is pulled in for questioning. Peter Jeffery, a Internal Affairs Inspector, goes after Sewell with a vengeance, "I hate bent cops!" Sewell is suspended till the situation can be cleared up.

Jeffery and his partner, Barry Jackson, search Sewell's office and home. They find a bank-book with a 300 pound deposit. Swell is at a loss to explain the money and says it must be a frame-up.

Sewell really gets upset when Jeffery rips up his girlfriend, Shelia Scott-Wilkenson's apartment. Suspended or not, he is going to discover who is after him.

He asks Roger Rowland, another Special Branch Detective, to get him the file on Selby. Sewell hunts the man down for a spot of questioning. Selby is not all that forthcoming in the info department. Sewell knocks him around till Selby is a bit more agreeable in that area.

It turns out the frame is over an armed female IRA member Sewell had shot years before. The father of the woman wanted revenge. Now that he has the info he needs, Sewell tells Selby that it would be best for his continued good health, if he was to tell the Police that he lied about the bribe.

Sewell now pays a visit to an IRA contact and likewise convinces them to back off.

Jeffery drops the investigation and Sewell returns to work.

A much better show than I was expecting. Sewell makes for a most imposing Copper in anyone's book. (color)

On the B.B.C.'s 'I Love The '70's', it was incorrectly stated that 'The Sweeney' was the first filmed British crime television series. Season Three of 'Special Branch' beat it to the airwaves by two years. The earlier seasons, shot on videotape with film inserts, starred Derren Nesbitt as 'D.C.I. Jordan'. After a gap of three years, it was reformatted and recast. Craggy-faced George Sewell took up the main role of 'D.C.I. Alan Craven', a tough man in a tough world. The new-look show was the first to be made by Euston Films, an offshoot of Thames T.V. Over the next two decades, it made some of the most successful British television shows ever - 'Minder', 'Danger U.X.B.', 'Widows', 'Quatermass', 'Reilly Ace Of Spies', 'The Flame Trees Of Thika' and, of course, 'The Sweeney'.

'A Copper Called Craven', written by Roger Marshall, begins with small-time crook 'Ridley' ( Tony Selby ) being arrested while trying to smuggle gold watches through customs at Heathrow airport. In his defence he claims that he had bribed 'D.C.I. Craven' to let him through. Craven is suspended from active duty in the Special Branch. His home is searched by detectives, and he is subjected to harsh interrogation at the hands of 'Pettiford' ( Peter Jeffrey ). To make matters worse, a large sum of money has been deposited in his bank account, so clearly someone is trying to frame him. But whom? Craven embarks on a one-man quest to clear his name...

You immediately know you are not watching 'Dixon Of Dock Green' thanks to the tinted opening titles which feature shots of London tourist landmarks interspersed with Craven loading and firing his gun, looking at mug-shots, and watching a fan-dancer in a Soho club. As cinemas were full of films such as 'Get Carter', 'Sitting Target', and 'Villain', it was inevitable that television would be influenced in some way. Of course 'Special Branch' had some way to go, the early Season Three episodes feature little by way of action, but that would change over time. Patrick Mower was brought in to play 'D.C.I. Tom Haggerty', a younger, brasher detective ( an ex-Flying Squad man ) often at loggerheads with Craven. Sewell is marvellous, wonderfully conveying the anger and frustration of the framed detective. Nobody likes a bent copper, least of all the police themselves. Much of Craven's background is sketched in, such as him having had a poor upbringing, which Pettiford tries to use to his advantage by making it seem like justification for corruption. Sewell is hardly Robert Redford, and this gives it an extra dimension of reality. Watching him in this it is hard to believe that only three years before he had been chasing green-skinned aliens in the cult sci-fi drama 'U.F.O.'! Peter Jeffrey likewise turns in a powerful performance as Pettiford. The actor had played villains in shows such as 'The Avengers' and also acted in Lindsay Anderson's 'If...'. The scenes where he interrogates Craven are superbly written and acted, boasting a smattering of expletives that were rare for television at the time. Craven has a black girlfriend - 'Nurse Pam Sloane' ( Sheila Scott-Wilkinson ) - a fact exploited by his accusers.

A very good piece of crime drama then, and a strong season opener. A pity the show became overshadowed by 'The Sweeney' because it is comparable in terms of quality. And I think it has a better theme tune!